easier said than done

easier said than done

It is easy to say that one can or will do something, but is much more difficult to actually do it. You vowed to double the amount of last year's donations? Easier said than done. I know you're confident in your idea, but starting a company from the ground up is easier said than done.

See also: done, easy, said

easier said than done

Cliché said of a task that is easier to talk about than to do. Yes, we must find a cure for cancer, but it's easier said than done. Finding a good job is easier said than done.

See also: done, easy, said

easier said than done

Also, more easily said than done. Describing something more readily talked about than accomplished, as in Keeping the cats off the sofa is easier said than done. This expression also was put as sooner or better said than done . Today, the variant ( more easily) is still heard less often than the original. [c. 1450]

See also: done, easy, said

easier said than done

COMMON If you say that something is easier said than done, you mean that although it sounds like a good idea, you think it would be difficult to actually do it. `If you're not happy with yourself, then change.' Easier said than done, Alex thought. The alternative option is to scrap the unwanted machines, and use the metal for some other purpose. But this, too, is easier said than done.

See also: done, easy, said

easier said than done

more easily talked about than put into practice.

See also: done, easy, said

ˌeasier ˌsaid than ˈdone

(saying) it is easier to suggest doing something than actually to do it: ‘All you have to do is climb a ladder and mend the roof.’ ‘Easier said than done — I’m terrified of heights!’

See also: done, easy, said